La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun By Alma Flor Ada

read La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun

When the sun disappears from ancient Mexico, a little lizard refuses to give up her quest to bring back light and warmth to everyone. Full color. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun

A Central American folktale told in both English and Spanish on facing pages, The Lizard and the Sun tells the story of how the sun went missing and a lizard discovered it. Because much of the story takes place sans-sun, many of the pages are in a cool, dark illustration style. When the sun returns in the final pages, bright and bold colors fill the page and bring the end to a satisfying celebration along with a brief explanation of the impact of the lizard on his own kind.

Alma Flor Ada makes this story accessible for a young audience using simple language and a few opportunities for building vocabulary. However, while the people in the unnamed Central American community continue to have markets and grow food during the sun's absence, a contradictory statement later suggests without the sun, the community will be unable to grow food. Having an explanation ready (the sun had only been gone for a short time by then, for example) would be useful when reading to a curious crowd. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun The Sun has disappeared and the people of the great Aztec city are worried an afraid. But the determined, persistent Lizard goes out in search of the Sun to bring light back into the world. This Mexican folktale provides young readers with a fun explanation of why lizards love lying in the Sun. The repetitive sentence structure makes this particular version of the folktale ideal for oral storytelling, but the illustrations provide young readers with the architectural, artistic, and fashionable elements of Ancient Aztec life. Illustrations depict Aztec pyramids, costumes, piercing and jewelry, and become bright and vibrant at the resolution of the story. Additionally, the narrative includes colorful language describing the animals, people, and Aztec city upon the Sun’s return, making this a well-crafted, premeditated and clearly thoughtful work of literature. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun I loved this Aztec folktale, in Spanish and English, about why lizards like lying in the sun. One day the sun just disappears and all the animal and people are afraid, but the lizard goes searching for it. He finds her and with a little help from the emperor, a woodpecker and the people wakes her up and gets her going again. I love all the details in the book from the architecture to the clothing on the emperor. Very well done interpretation of this story, which apparently started out as a paragraph. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun I read this book during my continuing effort to teach myself, as an adult, Spanish.

I LOVED this book which probably, in part, reflects that it was just difficult enough to be a tad of a challenge for me. Although it may have been just hard enough for me, I also had a blast reading it. I was actually reading most of the book on my own, and I often was able to figure out new vocabulary from the pictures before resorting to the English translation on the facing page. The drawings were delightful. I particularly enjoyed the illustration of the emperor, the woodpecker, and the lizard cajoling the sun (hiding in the rock) to wake up. The characters' emotions really shined through even if the sun was peacefully sleeping.

This book was mostly in past tense which is the grammar topic that I'm currently studying. There was rare present tense and rare other verb tenses that I haven't studied yet.

Lots of repetition. Mostly immediate repetition, but there was occasional delayed repetition that really helped my learning.

Vocabulary included lots of animals and adjectives.

The story really draws you in. It has a nice cadence. And, even my husband was joking about what would happen next. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun Third grade (maybe second?). This is a really great story about how the sun decided to sleep for days and the lizard and other animals searched for it. It is a legend about why the ancient indigenous people of Mexico would have huge colorful and loud celebrations every year and also why lizards sunbathe. In this day and age there are many Hispanic American children who know little to nothing about their ancient heritage. Legends of the Latin indigenous people are not told here in this country and I find it is very important to pass these stories on to these new generations. Stories like this one allow glimpses into the ancient cultures that help shape what Latin American cultures are like today. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun

Great art, and I always love reading legends that I haven't read 2384726 times before. The English translation was a bit dry, I imagine the Spanish was much lovelier.

I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you or order THE LIZARD AND THE SUN on IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978044... La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun OSU 5225 AU 2013
Topic: Resource List
I love reading folktales from other cultures. This was a very fun story to read. In this Mexican folktale, the sun mysteriously disappears and the tale follows a lizard's journey to finding it. This would be a great story for children of all ages to read and experience literature in a way that they are unfamiliar with. I loved the illustrations and thought they blended very well with the story. The amount of detail and technique used to captivate the ancient culture was done beautifully. My favorite part about this book was that it was written in both English and Spanish. I think this would be a great resource to use in a classroom with Spanish-speaking students that are learning to speak English. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun I am the lizard. I am always dreaming about the sunshine and wanting to bask in it's warmth. If the sun were sleeping I would be the first one to wake it up. This book was so gorgeous and I also loved the author's notes how she valued the tenacity of the lizard. I could relate. Maybe I was a lizard in a previous life, but I digress. I also admire the woodpecker and his persistence. Great book children will find facinating both for the story and the wondeful illustrations. Bravo! La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun To teach:
Problem, action, solution

Note to parents:
In this folktale, lizard goes looking for the lost sun. He isn't successful on his first try. However, with the help of the emperor and the woodpecker they manage to restore the sun to the sky. A good book for talking about a problem (what the character wants and why they can't get it), actions to solve the problem (that don't always work), and the final solution. Students have fun making connections to their own tricky situations. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun A porquoi tale/folk tale that tells why lizards like to bask on the rocks in the sun and how the lizard rescued the sun (it also explains why opossums have no hair on their tails and why vultures have no feathers on their heads). My students and I especially liked the illustrations. La lagartija y el sol/ The Lizard and the Sun